Thus, as if by chance, Nick Taylor (-16) can boast from tonight, late in Hawaii, of being part of the group of players who have won at least five PGA Tour tournaments. The Canadian golfer, aged 36, has won the Sony Open, the first full-field event of the season on the tour. And he did it in style, partly emulating his historic triumph in Canada a couple of years ago and proving to be a top-level competitive animal when it comes to playing everything in a playoff.
J.J. Spaun (-15), leader at the start of the day, and Stephan Jaeger (-15), who was the protagonist yesterday with a tremendous comeback that put him in the leading group on Sunday, captured all the attention for much of the final round of the tournament, immersed in a battle that seemed to be for victory. However, their birdie production on the back nine, where the wind has blown strongest this week at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, stalled completely, to the point of opening the door wide for their rivals.
The Colombian Nico Echavarría (-16) took advantage of it, with a great round of 65 strokes that he certified with two birdies in his last three holes. And Taylor did too, bringing to mind the sensational victory he achieved in his country’s open a couple of years ago, sinking a tremendous eagle putt in the playoff against Tommy Fleetwood. This time, his eagle on the 18th was with an impressive chip from off the green to take the lead in the Clubhouse and give himself a chance that he later capitalised on.
A chip-in eagle to tie the lead!@NTaylorGolf59 comes up clutch at the last @SonyOpenHawaii. pic.twitter.com/tNeTa9xQKM
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 13, 2025
Neither Spaun nor Jaeger, disheartened to see how a tournament that seemed to be between them had become an uphill battle with bogeys on the 17th and 16th, respectively, were able to even birdie the par five that closes the Hawaiian course. So the second title of this 2025, after the one won by Hideki Matsuyama last Sunday in the tournament of champions, would be decided in the playoff between Taylor and Echavarría, playing the 18th hole again. And there the Canadian seemed to draw on experience…
For the Colombian, it was his first playoff on the tour. For Nick, it was the third, and he had won the previous two, the one in Canada and the one a year ago at the WM Phoenix Open against Charley Hoffman. And although it seemed twice that Nicolás had the upper hand, it was Taylor who ended up winning, on the second hole. He managed to save a very delicate situation on the first and, with what probably ended up being the most significant shot of the tournament, besides his chip for eagle on his 72nd hole, he gave himself a chance that he did not waste.
Run it back.
With two birdies on No. 18, we're headed to a second playoff hole. pic.twitter.com/TGd93Q2rhw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 13, 2025
The playoff began with both players on the fairway, but with different luck on their second shots. Taylor‘s fell short and did not reach the green; Echavarría‘s went close to the flag, rolled across the green, seemed to stop in the first cut of rough… and at the last moment, the momentum took it into the rough. The Canadian recovered to leave himself a birdie putt of more than three metres, which he holed. The Colombian, under pressure, did the same and did not miss from just over a metre and a half.
Back to the start, but this time with Taylor complicating things from the tee, sending his ball into the fairway bunker. Echavarría was more precise, both in his drive, to the fairway, and in his approach shot, to the back of the green, in the first cut. Nick barely got the ball out of the sand and left himself a third shot of more than 40 metres. But there he pulled out his magic to, with a spectacular shot, stop his ball half a metre from the flag and, once again, put Nico in a tight spot.
Third playoff victory for @NTaylorGolf59 💪 pic.twitter.com/0zMzG39iXF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 13, 2025
The Colombian’s putt was not good, it fell much earlier than expected to the left, and he left himself a second birdie putt of about two and a half metres. He missed it… and Taylor did not forgive, crowning himself the winner of this exciting Sony Open, pocketing a cheque for more than one and a half million dollars, 500 FedEx points and securing two more years of his card. An excellent way to start the year for a player who has been winning for three consecutive years.
